Method of forming a starting course in knitted fabric



2 K. R. LIEBERKNECHT 1,992,225

METHOD OF FORMING A STARTING COURSE IN KNITTED FABRIC Filed Nov. 11, 1933 INVENTOR KAR RICH. LIEBERKNECHT ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 26, 1935 I UNITED STATESPATEN'T OFFICE METHOD OF FORMING A STARTING COURSE m KNITTED FABRIC Karl E. Lieberlmecht, Oberlmigwitz, Germany, assignor to Kalio, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 11, 1933, Serial No. 697,555 1 Claim. (01. 66-90) This invention relates particularly to the narrowing or picot mechanism has been brought formation and manipulation of the starting in play in such a way that a picot point is now course at the beginning of the welt of a full interposed between the yarn and one of the two fashioned stocking knitupon a flat knitting maneedles around which each loop passes;

chine. However, it may be utilized wherever a Fig. 4 illustrates the next step in the method 5 starting course is required and in connection in which the picot point has operated to lift with other knitted fabrics as well as stockings.- the yarn from one needle and in effect to trans- With this understanding the description will be fer it to the other needle of the pair; and limited to the starting course of the welt of a Fig. 5 illustrates the next step in which the stocking. starting course formed and described above is 10 It has long been the practice after the yarn knit to the following course. for the starting course of the welt of a full fash- As shown in Fig. 1 the starting course loops ioned stocking knit upon a flat knitting machine 1 are laid and sinkered around each needle 2 has been laid down and divided to pickup the in the customary manner. The sinkers are diasinker loopers by a welt bar and to utilize this grammatically shown at 3. If prior practice 15 bar for preserving the starting course loops unwere followed each of the sinker loops 4 thus til the welt is turned and the starting course knit formed would be hooked onto a welt bar. By

' or looped to the leg fabric. Ordinarily the welt the method of this invention the welt bar intuming is performed at the completion of the stead of being provided with a hook for'each welt, the startingcourse loops being then transloop has only half as many hooks one for every ferred from the welt bar back onto the needles other sinker loop as shown at 5 in Figs. 2-5.

so that the first course of the leg will complete Consequently when the loops of the starting the'welt by looping the first and last welt courses course formed as described above are hooked to together. The loops ofthe starting course being the welt bar only every other loop will be caught.

extremely small it is a difficult task to properly Therefore, the remaining alternate loops will transfer all of these loops from the welt bar disappear as shown in Fig. 2 leaving a series of back onto the needles and failure'to accomplish loops wider and longer than normal, each passthis perfectly has resulted in much imperfect ing around two adjacent needles and each bein fabric. I separated by a sinker loop'of substantially nor- The object of this invention is to provide a mal width butgreater than normal length method for simplifying and improving the welt caught by a welt hook.

turning process by forming theiiirst course in a The next step in the formation of the startsemi-automatic manner so that it is composed ing course diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. of longer and wider loops which may be much 3 and 4 is the lifting of the yarn from one needle more easily transferred from the welt bar back of each of the above pairs, leaving each loop held onto the needles. by a single needle and by the welt bar as shown A further object is the provision of a method in Fig. 4. This may be accomplished automatiof accomplishing this through the employment cally by employing the picot bar of the knitting of attachments with which the knitting machine machine. As is well known such a picot'mecha- 40 is normally provided and in particular the narnism is provided with a numberof points so 0prowing or picot mechanisms. erated as to engage with certain of the needles The nature of the invention will be clearly to lift the loops-from those needles and to transunderstood from the following description taken fer them to adjacent needles. In this instance the in connection with the drawing, of which picot mechanism may be employed to lift the loops Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically the loops from one of the needles of each of the pairs 45 of the starting course of a stocking or other fabaround which the needle loops of the startin ric after they have been formed around the course now pass as above described, and, in effect, needles by the sinkers; to transfer these loops to the otherneedle of the Fig. 2 illustrates the same starting course pair.

after every other loop has been hooked onto a Since there is no sinker loop between the two 50 welt bar, the intervening loops having disapneedle loops-this has the effect of dropping the neared and the remaining loops correspondingly loop from every other needle. This step is dialengthened; grammatically illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the Fig. 3 illustrates the loops in the same conpicot bar points being numbered 6. In Fig. 3

. .86 ditlon as in Fig. 2 with the exception that the they are shown between the first and every 9.1- I

ternate needle and the yarn passing therearound. In Fig. 4 the picot points have operated to lift the yarn from around these needles and carry it over to the alternate needles leaving the yarn suspended only from those needles. This results in loops of double width and of considerably greater length than normal loops. 7

The knitting of the second course of the welt then proceeds in the normal manner, the special loops described above being knit to the loops 7 of the second course in the usual way as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5.

When the knitting of the, welt is completed it is turned in the usual manner and the loops of the first course transferred from the welt bar hooks back onto the needles. Since these loops are of greater width and length than normal this operation is effected with much greater ease and certainty than by the prevailing practice. Also, with the exception of the attaching of the welt bar and the transferring of the loops back onto the needles which is still performed in substantially the standard manner, the forming of the enlarged loops is carried out automatically by means of standard machine attachments with the result that the method not only insures perfect results but greatly expedites the loop forming and welt turning operations, thus increasing the productive capacity of the machine. The method may be applied not only to the beginning of the welt but to any other part of the stocking where a stocking course is required and, of course, it may be used with equal facility in connection with other knitted fabrics.

What I claim is:

The method of producing a starting course on a fiat knitting machine which consists of forming needle loops around all of the needles, dropping alternate sinker loops and lengthening the remaining sinker loops, thereby absorbing the slack so that each needle loop passes around two needles, all while the needles are performing the regular motionsof a knitting cycle and then before the beginning of another knitting cycle and while the needles are performing their regular motions of a narrowing cycle inserting a point between each needle loop and one of the needles of the pair around which the loop is formed, lifting the loop from this needle by the point and then removing the point from the loop leaving it around the remaining needle of the pair and then looping the needle loops to a second course of regular loops during the next knitting cycle. KARL RICH. LIEBERKNECHT. 

